October 11, 2016

Former HLN host Nancy Grace is no stranger to pro wrestling fans as her show covered various wrestling related deaths over the years. Most recently, wrestling fans called for Nancy's show to be canceled back in 2014 when she brought on Diamond Dallas Page for an interview and tried tying all wrestler deaths to steroid use. Page later told RadarOnline that Grace ambushed him:

"I was asked to go on her show and talk about Warrior the man. I was even given bullet points from her producers about the topics we would discuss. After seeing the topics which were pretty basic. I felt it would be great to go on and discuss the legend he was and how I got to know him. With that being said, I wanted to share a story that when Warrior came back to wrestling back in the WCW days he sat myself and Bill Goldberg down and said he was watching all the fun we were having and wanted to be a part of it again. To hear him tell me that was the coolest thing. The Ultimate Warrior returning to wrestling because he was watching our stuff? How awesome is that! Fast Forward 18 years later to this past weeks WWE Hall of Fame speech. I mean The guy gave my DDP YOGA a shout out like four times during his speech simply because he was happy it was helping people and obviously he didn't have to do that. It just goes to show the man he was. What hurts is the fact that I couldn't say thank you to him for it. I went looking for him but couldn't find him. I wanted to call him but never got the chance. That's the Warrior that I wanted to discuss on her show. However, it's clear I was ambushed. Everyone has been asking me what would I say to Nancy Grace now after she had me on. The answer is easy. I don't need to say a word. Look on all the social media sites, the fans are saying it all!! I will not change who I am because of the way others act. Its just not me. However lesson learned."

Grace, who recently left HLN, appeared on The Jim & Sam Show with Jim Norton and Sam Roberts earlier today and walked out of the interview after a heated exchange. Roberts, who is a big wrestling fan, brought up Nancy's interview with DDP. The exchange that followed went like this:

Roberts: You took a lot of heat too, for the report you did when The Ultimate Warrior died and you brought on DDP the wrestler, and you were talking about wrestlers dying of steroids and drug overdoses, things like that. When steroids weren't involved in The Ultimate Warrior's death...

Grace: No they were not.

Roberts: And on the people you listed, you listed a whole bunch of wrestlers that had died before they were 40. Some of the wrestlers you listed, one of them had fallen from the ceiling, one of them had been shot, there were all these guys, all these names...

Grace: I don't think it was ever said that those guys died from steroid overdose.

Roberts: No, but you said that there's...

Grace: Early deaths and untimely deaths in wrestling history.

Roberts: But you established the argument that there's drug abuse and steroids, then you said... here's a list of wrestlers that died young. So you didn't say that's why they died...

Grace: I really believe that professional wrestlers are not protected. I think everybody gets a big kick out of watching them and whether the wrestling is real or not, people love watching it. I think that those wrestlers, those women and men that go in the ring are not protected. I don't think anybody is ever looking out for them and I think that they are used badly.

Roberts: So if that was your intention and of course I can believe you on that, you're telling me that, what goes through your mind when a lot of wrestlers see your report and come back at you with venom, saying you're not representing us, you're not telling our story and what you're portraying isn't happening.

Grace: Then I'm sorry they feel that way.

Roberts: That's the way most wrestlers responded. The wrestlers that were on your show, Diamond Dallas Page, who was on your show, was furious. I don't know if you remember, about coming on your show. He said he came on under false pretenses.

Grace: I do remember. I thought he was a perfect gentleman, he could not have been nicer. And I don't want him to feel bad. I feel bad that he feels bad. But the fact remains, in the wrestling industry there is a very high occurrence of untimely deaths for a lot of different reasons. I feel it's the industry's fault. I don't think these guys and women, but mostly guys are the ones dying inordinately young, I don't think that they are told all the risks of what they're getting into.

Roberts: So when the people you advocate for when you're saying this, this is your intention to advocate for these people. When the people you're advocating for come to you and say, "we don't need you doing that for us, we don't like what you're doing, don't do it."

Grace: I've rarely had that happen.

Roberts: It happened in this case.

Grace: Yes it did, with that wrestler. He did not like the way the show went.

Roberts: And most wrestlers that watched that...

Grace: I disagree with you.

Roberts: I talk to wrestlers all the time...

Grace: I know you talk to wrestlers all the time and you have talked to several wrestlers that said that but that does not mean most wrestlers.

Roberts: A huge amount.

Grace: So, the fact that you have talked to some wrestlers that said that, I hear you, I respect that and I am sorry they feel that way. I really don't know what else you want me to say.

Norton continued to grill Grace about how she covers stories. She accused them of not liking her and talks about how she feels comfortable with her show and how she represents crime victims. Grace said:

"I'm sorry the wrestlers feel that way but the truth is that a huge amount of wrestlers die at a young age, for a lot of different reasons, and that is what that screen was for. Now if you or somebody else interpreted it a different way, I feel bad about that."

Nancy then commented that the hosts didn't ask one decent question from the time she walked in, accusing them of attacking her. They did promote her new TV show and her book but after some more back and forth, Grace walked out of the interview.